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Rap song the latest distraction for Bauer

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GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Trevor Bauer is off to a rough start when it comes to his efforts to focus on the upcoming season and move beyond the controversies of last year with the D-backs. On Thursday, a rap song served as the latest distraction.

Bauer's long-time friend and Pepperdine University ballplayer, Connor Garelick, posted a rap on Twitter titled "You Don't Know Me," which they recorded in December.

Bauer re-posted Garelick's tweet to his own 18,000-plus followers. The timing proved unfortunate, considering the lyrics came a few days after D-backs catcher Miguel Montero criticized the pitcher for being unwilling to listen.

Bauer said the song was not about Montero or the D-backs. The 22-year-old pitcher claimed instead that the lyrics were aimed at negative followers on Twitter.

"I completely understand the timing," Bauer said on Thursday. "It's unfortunate that it happened that way and that it got interpreted that way now, but that's not what it is. I have no hard feelings toward the Diamondbacks. I enjoyed my time there. I have no hard feelings toward Miguel Montero. I would just like to now move forward."

In the chorus of the song, Bauer raps, "You can say what you want/even if hate's all you got/ But you don't know me/You don't know me."

He ends the chorus by saying, "You hide behind a mask to facilitate a task/But you don't know me/ You won't know me."

The mask reference could be interpreted as being meant for Montero.

On Thursday morning, general manager Chris Antonetti and manager Terry Francona both met with Bauer to discuss the situation, and to hear the pitcher's explanation. Francona said Bauer -- a contender for a rotation job this spring -- offered the same story he gave reporters.

"We talked to him this morning," Francona said. "He was really, genuinely upset. That's an interest of his. That had been recorded a long time ago. His buddy is the one that puts it out. ... We've got to laugh about it, and we'll move on."

Bauer said rapping is simply a hobby -- a way to blow off steam -- and he is well aware that his lyrical skill set leaves something to be desired.

"When you put yourself out there," Bauer said, "you're going to get flak for it, but it's just a hobby. I know I'm not good at it. It's just fun."